Audrey Tang

d.

Design

r.

Research

m.

Misc


About

> d. 

Design


d1. NEMO x Leaf It to Me
d2.Street Planters for Downtown
d3.TheRide Detour Toolkit
d4.Urban Tech Yearbook
On This Page
Overview
Research Insights
Design Approach
The Toolkit

> d3. 

TheRide Detour Toolkit





DEC 2023
6 weeks
Service Design, UI/UX Research & Design

In collaboration with Theo Berry, Yichen Hu, and My Dao

Role: Project Management, Book Design, Content Writing
A toolkit to help service planners at Ann Arbor’s bus system TheRide to effectively communicate detour situations to riders. While detours may inevitably disrupt some travels, the Toolkit aims to reduce rider abandonment by improving basic text and graphic communication standards and information distribution.

Detours occur frequently in Ann Arbor due to construction projects and other circumstances outside of TheRide’s control. However, these detours should not deter riders from using the bus service, and the passenger communication system should offer recourse to assist riders in adapting their travels to the detours.

This project was selected as part of the 2024 Taubman Student Awards Exhibition.

How can we optimize detour 
alerts to improve rider experience?

Each summer, Ann Arbor undergoes a number of construction projects that impact roads and forces detours for local bus services. With over a million boardings each year, these detours impact a significant number of TheRide’s ridership experience, and our research has found that the service is ill-equipped to communicate detours with their riders. 

With budget in consideration, what are some improvements that can be made to the existing information system? Using principles of UX research and design, this project aims to inform staff at TheRide with a straightforward and comprehensive detour protocol when the unexpected happens. 


> Research Insights

Our team started by conducting a series of exploratory research of the exsisting alert ecosystem to understand how riders are currently navigating detours with the local bus system. From our exploratory interviews and observations of transit centers, we identified key issues in the accessibility of exsiting detour communnications. 

The three areas of improvement were: (1) the difficulty in deciphering text announcements, (2) a lack of visual communication for spatial information, and (3) a passive alert system that requires users to actively search for alerts. 

To address these gaps, we compiled a passenger communication guide targeted for retaining ridership during detour instances. 



> Design Approach

Prior to the design process, we outlined the approach we hope to take with the detour communication redesign. The priorities we defined were rider retention, accessibility, and emphasis. To guide our writing process, we centered on the principles of accountability and clarity.

The result of our considerations is the Responsive Text Alert System— where three forms of information (short form text, long form text, and map) are put in different combinations given the context the information is displayed on. This is designed for a quick and east information access at the first touchpoint, while still offering the choice to expand on the information with each following touchpoint.


> The Toolkit

The toolkit is split into three sections — (1) Alert Messages, (2) Detour Flyers, and (3) Dissemination — each section addressing the respective challenges we observed from our research on confusing language, language barriers, and passive alerts.

In each section, service planners are presented with clear instructions and examples on how to create detour alert information. The toolkit also includes a checklist for information assets and procedural steps to take during a detour event, as well as an appendix with flyer templates.

To view the full toolkit, please click through the PDF below. ◆